Mail and Commentary July 28, 2010

I love Mike Flinn's cartoon showing part of our Congressional delegation bringing home the federal bacon (BW, Opinion, "Love Geothermal. Hate Hypocrites," July 14, 2010). It would have been even funnier had they been flying it in suspended from an F35.

--Pete Grady, Boise

Ignored Legacy

Mr. Rall spent some time wondering whose war is it really (BW, Opinion, "So Much Stupidity," July 14, 2010). You know, that one over there somewhere in the Middle East. Oh yeah, Afghanistan, the last country we invaded to bring peace and joy to them. It is our war, Mr. Rall. Not [President Barack] Obama's. Not [George W.] Bush's. We the people are sitting on our duffs complaining and occasionally asking, "Why the heck are we there anyhow?" It is the home of terrorists would be the quick answer. But we have done our part in getting nations to dislike us, by being rich empire builders with a superiority complex, a country who hires mercenaries to do much of our fighting and killing. But we have sort of become a bit paranoid, too. Now we have invasive body scans before boarding an airplane, and Big Brother tapping our private telephone conversations. I think that the next step will be to have colonoscopies at our airports. But, at last we will know where our heads have been for a long, long time.

Remember folks, when the Romans finally found out that they weren't really loved by the Huns, they left us a language and aquaducts. We will leave behind Levi's and McDonald's. Maybe we should spend our time and money repairing our own country's bridges, schools and highways.

--Tom Edgar, Boise

Quote of the Week

"By the way, profiling works--be it for serial killers, terrorists, sex offenders, illegal immigrants or many others. Screw political correctness. Common sense is what we need."